With a mind-boggling total of 17 divisions ranging from strawweight/minimum weight (105 lbs) to heavyweight (over 200 lbs), does boxing need any more weight classes? After all, the sport got along just fine with only eight divisions throughout the first six decades of the last century. ?Junior? divisions were tried and dropped in the 1930s, before taking permanent hold in the 1960s.
The temptation to say ?Hell, no!? to more divisions now is strong ? especially considering that from bantamweight to strawweight, there are five divisions that cover a grand total of 13 pounds.
As the old saying goes, though, there?s room at the top. As the 21st century marches on, a change has occurred among the heavyweights. From 2005 to today and the near future, Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko have bestrode the division like twin colossi. At 6?6? and 6?7? respectively, the Ukrainian giants have mastered the art of ?fighting tall.? Their lean, chiseled bodies comfortably carry 240 to 245 pounds. The Klitschkos have demolished smaller heavyweights, but they?ve also knocked out or widely outpointed challengers who are close to their own size. Even though Vitali is over 40 years old, and Wladimir over 35, they could well continue to rule the heavyweights for several more years, if they so desire.
The Klitschkos are no anomaly size-wise. In the rankings listed in the September issue of The Ring magazine, one of the Top 10 heavyweights ? Robert Helenius ? is as tall as the Klitschkos, and another ? Tyson Fury ? is taller. Three others ? Kubrat Pulev, Chris Arreola and Tony Thompson ? are at least 6?4.? The rest of the Top 10 stand between 6?1? and 6?3.?
Helenius and Pulev are both unbeaten, but they?re still prospects. Arreola has been stopped by Vitali Klitschko, while Wladimir has knocked Thompson out twice. The smaller Top 10 contenders have either lost to a Klitschko (see Tomasz Adamek and Ruslan Chagaev) or have seemed less than eager to face one (see Alexander Povetkin).
Looking at the pack of younger hopefuls, it appears that the Klitschkos? successor will be ? like them ? at least 6?5? and weigh at least 235 lbs. Hotshot prospects like Deontay Wilder, David Price and Mariusz Wach are in that size range, and Seth Mitchell is close to it. The bigger heavyweights are more athletic than they used to be, and they?re learning from the Klitschkos? example the most effective ways to utilize their height and reach advantages.
So, where does that development leave smaller heavies such as Adamek, Chagaev, Povetkin and the resurrected David Haye? In need of a new division, that?s where.
The time has come to create a class between cruiserweight and heavyweight. Label it ?junior-heavyweight,? which is what the WBA used to call the cruiserweights back in the 1980s. It would be for fighters who weigh between 201 and, say, 225 lbs. That was the weight range of most of the top heavyweights during the Ali-Frazier-Foreman-Holmes-Norton 1970s ?Golden Age? of the division. Boxers of that poundage could fight each other on even terms, without the inherent disadvantages that come with facing someone with the Klitschkos? skills and physical attributes.
The heavyweights would remain heavyweights. There?s no need to put a ?super? in front of the label, as is the case in amateur boxing. A junior-heavyweight division would merely acknowledge the evolution of the game ? and make for more competitive fights among the big boys (junior heavyweights) and bigger boys (heavyweights).
Of course, if another Evander Holyfield comes along, all the above theorizing would get knocked into a cocked hat. As it is, though, the good big men are getting bigger, and the good little men are getting beat.
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In last week?s column about frontrunners for 2012 Fighter of the Year honors, I barely mentioned Andre Ward, who was last year?s consensus leader because of his win over Carl Froch in the Super Six super-middleweight final. Ward meets light-heavyweight champion Chad Dawson next month. If Ward were moving up to challenge for Dawson?s title, a victory would put Andre in a strong position to be Fighter of the Year again. But Dawson is coming down a division. A victory over a diminished Dawson would not carry as much weight for Ward.
Charles R. Saunders is the author of several books including Sweat and Soul: The Saga of Black Boxers in the Maritimes from the Halifax Forum to Caesars Palace, as well as the Imaro series of fantasy/adventure novels. Considered by many to be one of the leading authorities on boxing in Canada, he is the current Vice-President of Boxing for the Society of North American Sports Historians and Researchers. His award-winning novel, Damballa, which centers around a fictional heavyweight title bout, is available at Amazon.com.
